Stay Tuned: Long-running Doctor Who’ debuts the first female doctor in series history

Melissa Crawley More Content Now

Tuesday

Oct 2, 2018 at 11:17 AMOct 2, 2018 at 11:17 AM

TV Insider is a weekly roundup of what’s happening in the world of television. From ratings winners and losers to the latest news items to what shows are generating buzz, TV Insider keeps you up to date on all things television.

Dispatches: Weekly TV newsIt’s lucky number 13 for the groundbreaking debut of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor on the long-running science fiction series “Doctor Who” (BBC America, Oct. 7). Whittaker is the 13th Time Lord and the first woman to play the lead role since the series began in 1963.

Dragons and cyclops and minotaurs, oh my! Science Channel’s contribution to Halloween programming starts Oct. 14 at 10 p.m. EDT with the series “Mythical Beasts.” Each episode explores the origins of popular monster mysteries.

Contenders: Buzz worthy shows worth your timeIf you missed the preview episodes of new comedy “I Feel Bad” (NBC), don’t feel bad. You have another chance to catch this funny show during its time period premiere (Oct. 4, 9:30 p.m. EDT). What sets it apart from all the other versions of a woman who is trying to balance her wife/mother/boss/daughter/friend roles is the smart point of view and the charming performance from lead Sarayu Blue.

Just when you thought it was safe to settle back into your returning favorites, broadcast-networks throw 13 more premieres into the mix this week. On Oct. 8, CBS doubles down with the back-to-back debut of “The Neighborhood” and “Happy Together” but the strong ensemble casts aren’t well-served by the lackluster writing.

“The Walking Dead” begins its ninth season this week (AMC, Oct. 7, 9 p.m.) and it’s the last for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). As Lincoln’s character, who has long been the driving force of the narrative, exits, the series moves in a strong new direction with more female-driven stories and bigger roles for Michonne (Danai Gurira), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and Carol (Melissa McBride).

Report Card: A look at winners and losersWinners: The wins keep coming for Ryan Murphy. The Sept. 23 season two premiere of his emergency responders drama “9-1-1” (Brad Falchuck and Tim Minear are co-creators), was the highest-rated drama since the season finale of “This Is Us” in March. The premiere was also Fox’s most-watched entertainment program in two years, excluding post-Super Bowl.

Losers: Showtime announced that it has canceled “I’m Dying Up Here” after two-seasons. The Jim Carrey produced drama, which focused on the stand-up comedy scene in 1970s Los Angeles, was not a strong ratings performer for the network with an average of 143,000 viewers during its first season and only about an additional 35,000 viewers during its second season.— Melissa Crawley is the author of “Mr. Sorkin Goes to Washington: Shaping the President on Television’s ‘The West Wing.’” She has a Ph.D. in media studies and is a member of the Television Critics Association. To comment on Stay Tuned, email her at staytuned@outlook.com or follow her on Twitter at @MelissaCrawley.

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